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| Reuters |
The U.S. aviation agency found "multiple instances" of quality control failures in aircraft manufacturer Boeing and its main supplier.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated this Monday that, after a six-week audit, it detected "non-compliance issues" in the control processes, handling, and storage of parts at Boeing. It did not give details.
It added that it gave a summary of the findings of its audit to Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems, but did not make that document public. A spokesperson said that the FAA cannot disclose the details because the investigation is ongoing.
The agency has intensified its scrutiny of Boeing since January 5, when a panel came off a Boeing 737 Max 9 in mid-flight, 4,800 meters over Oregon. The pilots of that Alaska Airlines plane were able to land safely despite the hole on the side of the plane.
Last week, the FAA gave Boeing 90 days to develop a plan to address the concerns expressed by that agency and by an independent panel of industry, government, and academic experts.
Two weeks ago, Boeing announced the departure of the person responsible for the 737 Max planes, Ed Clark, a month and a half after the Alaska Airlines incident.
The CEO of Boeing's commercial aircraft unit, Stan Deal, indicated in a note to employees that Clark is leaving the company after having taken over the 737 Max division in 2021, the last stage of an 18-year career linked to that model.
Clark, who until then was also the general manager of the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, where the 737 Max is produced, was replaced in both functions by Katie Ringgold, who was the supervisor of the deliveries of this model to customers.